In the Blink of an Eye: Part IV Chosen
by DevineM27
Summary: The Athosians celebrate harvest and Halling makes an important discovery. Sheyla, McWeir


**Chosen**

It was a warm, beautiful day. The Athosian people were at harvest. All able bodied persons worked in the fields helping to bring in the latest crop. Those who were too young, old, or disabled assisted in whatever way they could. Teyla lifted her basket and rested it on her hip. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze. She looked around and smiled. Athosians were working the field as far as the eye could see. It felt good to be amongst her people again. She'd missed them. Teyla turned and walked down the hill to deposit the fruit she'd picked into a large barrel. On her way back up the hill she heard the low whine of a Puddle Jumper. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked up at the sky as it flew overhead. _John. _Gut instinct told her it was him. Even though she knew he'd left on a mission this morning she'd been looking over her shoulder all day expecting to find him watching her. She smiled as she watched the Jumpert land on the far side of the village. Putting down her basket, she turned and headed back down the hill.

* * *

Teyla made it to the center of the village when she was joined by Halling. He too had noticed their new arrivals. They reached the clearing as the Jumper bay door lowered to the ground. Dr. Beckett as well as five other military personnel stepped from the Jumper carrying large cases. 

"We come barring gifts."

Resting the case at his feet, he smiled and returned Halling's greeting in the traditional Athosian way, and then he greeted Teyla.

"We're the first to arrive, but a lot more are on the way. I'll start off making medical visits then join you in the fields later. In the mean time, I've brought you six adrenaline junkies who could work off a little energy."

Halling looked past Beckett.

"Six, you say?"

Beckett turned and looked at the Jumper as Sheppard stepped from the ship. He nodded.

"Six."

* * *

Teyla watched as Sheppard closed the Jumper's bay door. He slipped his back pack over one shoulder and picked up a large medical case. Their eyes connected, they smiled. A strong wave of emotion caught Teyla by surprise. She'd missed him, more than she had her own people. She sighed. The deep love that she felt for him often scared her. If anything ever happened to him she wasn't sure she would be able to handle it. Teyla shook her head, brushing away her sad thoughts. Today was a day of celebration and that's exactly what she planned on doing. 

Sheppard paused beside Beckett and sat down his case. He greeted Halling then turned to greet Teyla as well. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her close. For a second Teyla thought he was going to kiss her in front of everyone, but then he smiled and touched his forehead to hers. They stood for a moment gazing into each others eyes, noses brushing softly, and then broke away.

"Can I help you carry anything?"

Sheppard slipped his bag from his shoulder and handed it to her.

"Could you put this away for me? I don't want it to get mixed up with the other supplies."

Teyla took the bag, holding it with both hands.

"Sure."

She left to go place it in her cabin.

* * *

Halling, Beckett, Sheppard, and the other soldiers carried the supplies into the village. Everything was put into storage except for the supplies the Beckett would need for his visits. 

"Catch up with you guys later." Grabbing two medical cases he started his rounds.

The rest of the men followed Halling into the fields. Each grabbed a basket and headed for the fruit orchard. Halling asked that they start there. Sheppard had been picking some kind of citrus fruit for about ten minutes when Teyla strolled by. She gave a quick smile over her shoulder as she continued up the hill. He paused watching her progress. His eyes followed her graceful stride and the gentle sway of her hips. She wore a tan sundress that flowed over her curses. With the sun in the fore ground he could see a soft silhouette of her figure. Sheppard gritted his teeth and closed his eyes against the image. He could feel himself getting excited. _Down boy, that will come later. _He picked another citrus from the tree gently squeezing it, before dropping it in the basket. _Later.

* * *

_

Over the next hour as many of Atlantis' personnel that could be spared arrived to participate in the harvest. They spread out amongst the Athosians, helping where they could. The Atlantians also brought food and assisted in the preparation of the harvest meal. Everyone was one in high spirits, or at least almost everyone.

"Is it me or is it wickedly hot out here?"

McKay shielded his eyes from the sun.

"I swear I am so dehydrated that if a stiff wind hit me I'd disintegrate and blow away."

"Come on wind." Sheppard prayed aloud as he carried his full basket down the hill.

"Oh ha ha, very funny Major."

Ford shook his head and followed Sheppard down the hill. They both passed Weir who was carrying a jug.

"Rodney, would you like some water?"

McKay hurried down his ladder and grabbed the jug. He raised it to his mouth then stopped; he frowned.

"How many people have drunk from this jug?"

She smiled.

"I just washed it and refilled it with water. So you're the first."

McKay guzzled down the water. With a sigh of satisfaction he handed the jug back to her.

"Thank you Elizabeth."

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Anytime Rodney."

* * *

Teyla and Sheppard walked up the hill, each carrying an empty basket. 

"So."

Sheppard wiggled his eyebrows.

"Did you miss me?"

Teyla turned to him her brow knotted in confusion.

"Why? Did you go somewhere?"

At his smirk, she struggled to keep a straight face.

"Maybe a little."

Sheppard paused.

"A little?"

She held her thumb and forefinger closely together.

"A little."

"You little minx."

Teyla laughed dodging his basket.

* * *

By early afternoon the harvest was complete. Sheppard sat wearily on a stump and sighed. Teyla stood in front of him. 

"John you are exhausted."

She reached out and brushed his hair from his forehead, then ran a finger down his cheek. He closed his eyes enjoying the caress.

"Go and rest. I'll wake you for the evening meal."

"Only if you come with me."

She smiled.

"I can not. I have to be present for the storage of the crops and-."

He grabbed her hips, pulling her between his legs.

"John!"

Teyla quickly glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily everyone was headed down the hill to the village. She turned to him.

"Someone will see us."

He gazed into her eyes.

"John?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"John."

She knew that look, combined with him gently massaging her hips, she began to weaken.

"We can't."

Sheppard briefly dropped his gaze to her lips and then returned it to her eyes. He knew he had her when her breath quickened and her eye lids lowered. She reached for his hand.

"Follow me."

Teyla went past the orchard and into the woods. After taking a glance over his shoulder Sheppard followed.

* * *

Halling watched Sheppard and Teyla from the bottom of the hill. She was brushing her hand down his cheek, while he sat on a stump. Halling turned at the sound of his name being called. It was Cronin, he wanted to confirm how much of the wabba fruit would be set aside for eating and how much would be used to make Athosian wine. When Halling glanced back up the hill Teyla and Sheppard were gone. He sighed. He realized that she and Sheppard had a special friendship, but from what he could see that friendship had blossomed into something else. He remembered the greeting they shared ealier today. He needed to talk to her. If she had chosen, which he knew in his heart that she had, then the council needed to be notified. Halling spent the next hour trying to find Teyla. He'd assumed that when he did not see her on the hill that she had returned to the village. If she had, they were walking circles around each other. It was nearly time to begin storing the harvest and the prayer of thanks giving. He had to approach the elders now or he wouldn't get a chance to later. He took one last glance around the village. Halling sighed. No Teyla.

* * *

Teyla wondered around the campfire stopping here and there to greet some and briefly converse with others. She could hear the low hum of Sheppard's voice as he told the children a story about Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo, the One. Teyla shook her head. She'd made it back to the village in time for the storage of the harvest and prayers, but she hadn't been able to concentrate on any of it. The evening meal, the children's games, everything was a blur. The majority of her evening was spent in a daze as she relived flashbacks from their 'stroll' in the forest. She closed her eyes and took a long breath. She could hear Sheppard ending the story. The children began asking for another, only to be told by their parents that it was time to retire. Teyla opened her eyes and saw them being herded off to bed. 

"Teyla."

She turned to see Drs. Weir and McKay approaching.

"Elizabeth."

"I just wanted to say thank you for inviting us to the harvest."

"You are welcome, but I should be thanking you. Without your help we would probably still have work to do in the morning."

"You're welcome."

They shared a smile.

"Did you two enjoy yourselves?" Teyla glance to her side as Sheppard joined the small group.

"Yes we did, though I think Rodney my regret it later."

Everyone turned to McKay.

"What? I only ate a little."

"If a little is half of what you picked, then yes you did."

"Well someone had to make sure that the fruit was ripe."

Weir rolled her eyes.

"Good night."

"Good night."

Weir and McKay continued to the clearing where the Atlantis personnel were meeting to board the Jumpers. Teyla turned to Sheppard.

"How much longer can you stay?"

"Until morning. There was a group of people who requested to remain overnight on the mainland. I volunteered to fly them back."

"Teyla."

They turned as two elders approached them; Ishta, one of Teyla's old teachers and Hon, an Athosian holyman. Both Teyla and Sheppard bowed their heads respectfully to the elders. They returned the greeting.

"The council would like to welcome the Sidi with our blessings."

Hon passed a goblet to Ishta, who presented it to Teyla. She stared for a moment in surprise. Sheppard's brow knotted in confusion. _What the hell was a Sidi?_ It sounded kind of familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it. Teyla thanked Ishta, then turned and offered the goblet to Sheppard. He raised an eyebrow. She gave him a slight nod. Whatever was happening, Teyla seemed to be okay with it. He shrugged and accepted the goblet,offering his thanks he drank deeply. It was wine. _Wine?_ Suddenly he remembered. Teyla had explained to him that she was the Sida of her people and that her mate would be the Sidi. He nearly choked. They'd offered their blessings. They knew. Sheppard locked eyes with Teyla and returned the goblet. She finished what was left of the wine and handed the empty goblet to Ishta. She and Hon bowed their heads again and walked away. Sheppard glanced around the village. He noted that the other elders had all observed that exchange as well as Halling. Teyla turned back to him, still a bit shocked.

"Come on."

He said grabbing her hand.

"You've got some explaining to do."

* * *

Together they walked to her cabin. Once inside, Sheppard waited for Teyla to light a lamp before closing and bolting the door. The cabin was actually a large room divided into two smaller sections by two heavy curtains. At the moment the curtains where pushed back showing the back section which contained a bed, a chest for storing clothing, and a table with a pitcher and bowl washing. The front area, where they stood, contained a large table with six chairs, a fireplace with chimney for cooking and heat, and a side table with upper and lower cabinets for storing food and cookware. It was one of the smaller cabins, rarely used because Teyla spent a majority of her time on Atlantis, but it offered her privacy when she came to the mainland. Sheppard leaned against the door. 

"Would you like to tell me what happened out there?"

"The council members have acknowledged you as my…consort."

His eyebrows rose.

"Consort?"

He stood up straight and slowly stalked Teyla.

"Companion."

"Companion?"

She took a couple of steps back.

"Mate."

"Mate?"

He backed her against the table.

"Lover."

He tilted his head to the side.

"I am most definitely that."

He lifted her chin and brushed his lips across her neck.

"In truth, I guess I am all those things, but I was wondering how they found out."

He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the table.

"I don't know, I was wondering that my self."

Teyla reached down to unbuckle his belt, while he undid the back of her dress.

"So, what exactly does being the Sidi mean?"

He ran his hands up her thigh, lifting her dress as he went. Sliding a finger into each side of the waistband of her underwear and he gave a slight tug.

"Wha-."

He stopped her with a kiss. When they parted he lifted her dress over her head. _Damn, he'd forgotten about her bra._

"What does being the Sidi entail?"

He pulled his shirt off and dropped it on the floor.

"It is like an engagement, but more. We live together, but we are not officially bound. The leaders will now turn to you for council if I am unavailable."

He kicked off his boots.

"Officially bound as in marriage?"

"Yes. If we married, you would become my equal in all things. If I died yo-."

He kissed her again, then leaned back.

"Are there any rules or weird customs that I should know about?"

She tugged on his waist pants' button until it snapped open.

"No. You will just have to get used to being addressed as Sidi while among the Athosians. Why?"

Sheppard nibbled her neck, while trying to remember how she'd taken off her bra earlier.

"Just wondering, is all."

_Got it!_ Sheppard smiled at Teyla. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. It was deep, demanding kiss, boarding on erotic. He eased his hands up her sides and gently squeezed her breasts. She moaned. Sheppard grabbed Teyla's hips pulling her flush against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He began to lean her back down on the table when she broke the kiss.

"John, the bed."

He shook his head.

"Later."

* * *

Sheppard tucked in his shirt, and then reached down to pickup his back pack, slipping it over his shoulder. He walked up behind Teyla and kissed her neck She smiled and turned into his embrace. He rested his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling her scent. 

"I have to go. The others will be waiting for me and I need to talk to Elizabeth."

"About us?"

He lifted his head and nodded.

"Now that others know, I need to tell her myself before she hears some crazy rumor. It's just a courtesy."

Sheppard looked at his watch.

"When will you return to Atlantis?"

"In a few days."

He gave her a long, deep kiss.

"I'll see you then."

He gave her one last quick kiss and walked out of the door.

* * *

"Sir?" 

Sheppard turned to the young sergeant.

"We're ready when you are."

He nodded and slowly raising the Puddle Jumper above the village. Sheppard saw the lone figure walking through the fields and smiled.

* * *

Teyla turned as the Jumper flew overhead. She hated their goodbyes. There was always the fear that the next time she saw Sheppard he'd be dead or even worse she'd never see him again at all. She sighed and watched as the Jumper angled to the right, heading home to Atlantis.

* * *

Dr. Weir looked up from the report she was reading at the knock on her door. 

"Good morning John."

"Good morning Elizabeth. Have you got a minute?"


End file.
